Science 10F:

Atoms & Elements

Lesson #5:

“The Modern Periodic Table”

Basic Organization

Metals

• The Modern Periodic Table is broken

up into 2 general sections called

Metals and Non-Metals

• The 2 sections are separated by a bold

line called the Staircase

• All of the elements located on the left

side of the staircase

• 75% of the Periodic Table is made up

of metallic elements

Properties of Metals

• All Metals have similar Physical Properties

1. Solid at room temperature

- except Mercury (Hg) which is liquid

2. Lustre (shiny)

3. Silver – Grey Colour (except gold and

copper)

4. Malleable – can be bent or hammered into

thin sheets

5. Ductile – can be shaped or stretched into wire

6. Conduct Heat

7. Conduct Electricity

Non–Metals

Properties of

Non-Metals

• All of the elements on the Right of

the staircase

• 15% of the periodic table is represented

by non – metallic elements

• No Lustre (usually dull)

• Brittle (Not malleable, Not Ductile)

• Insulators (do not conduct electricity or

heat)

Metalloids • Boron (B), Silicon (Si), Arsenic (As)

Germanium (Ge), Antimony (Sb)

Tellurium (Te), Polonium (Po),

Astatine (At)

• These elements are located on the

staircase

• All Solid at room temperature

• All Semi-conductors

– Conduct electricity BUT not heat

Rows of the Periodic Table

• The rows of the Periodic Table are

called Periods.

• There are 7 Periods on the Periodic

Table

• Elements in the same Period have the

same number of electron shells

• The period that an element belongs to

also indicates how many shells the

element has

– Example: Calcium (Ca) is found in

Period 4, Calcium has 4 electron shells

Columns of the Periodic Table

• Columns of the Periodic Table are

called Families or Groups

• There are 18 Families / Groups on

the periodic table

• Elements in the same family exhibit

similar properties

Hydrogen • Hydrogen is considered as the family

of one

• Hydrogen has only one electron and

is the most reactive element on the

periodic table

• By nature Hydrogen is a non-metallic

gas and should be found in group 17

(the 17th column) of the table

• Often Hydrogen behaves like the

metals found in group 1 (the 1st

column) of the table

Alkali Metals

• The 1st column of the periodic table

(group 1)

• Each member of this family has ONE

valence electron

• These metals are the most reactive

elements on the periodic table

• In nature, these elements are almost

always combined with other elements

Alkaline Earth Metals

• The alkaline earth metals family is

located in the 2nd column of the

periodic table.

• All Alkali Earth Metals have Two

Valence Electrons

• Alkaline earth metals are less reactive

than the alkali metal family.

Halogens • The halogen family is the 17th family

in the periodic table.

• Halogens are one electron away from

filling their outermost orbit.

• The halogens are the most reactive

non-metals in the periodic table.

• In their natural state, the highly

reactive halogens are found combined

with other elements, for example NaCl

• Fluorine and Chlorine are poisonous

gasses, Bromine is a Liquid and Iodine

and Astatine are very reactive and toxic

solids

Chalcogens • The Chalcogen family is located in the

16th column of the periodic table.

• Chalcogens are two electrons away

from filling their outermost orbit

• The Chalcogen family is slightly less

reactive than the halogen family

• Each member of this family is a solid

except Oxygen which is a gas

Noble Gases • The noble gas family is the 18th family

on the right of the periodic table.

• Each member of this family is a gas

• They are called noble gases (and

sometimes inert gases) because they

generally do not form compounds

with other elements.

• They are unreactive because their

outer orbits are completely filled

with electrons.

Transition Metals

• These metals aren’t an official group or

family but they do exhibit similar

physical properties

• All of these metals are solid at room

temperature EXCEPT Mercury which

is a liquid

Lanthanides, Actinides and Transactinides

• These are the weirdos of the periodic

table

• This is a quirky subgroup of the

transition metals.

• These elements are all solid

• Many are radioactive and many are

synthetic (not found in nature)

• This group of elements are unique in

that they are metals BUT do not exhibit

many of the general physical properties

of other metals